A Message from the Commanding Officer - The United States Navy ...

HiStOry OF tHe internAtiOnAl SAxOpHOne SyMpOSiuM
While attending the 1977 World Saxophone
Congress in Brussels, Belgium, then-Chief
Musician Dale Underwood and Navy
Band officer-in-charge, Cmdr. Ned Muffley, discussed
the possibility of hosting the band’s own symposium.
After some consideration, Cmdr. Muffley turned to
Underwood and said, “We can do this and do it better.”
In those moments the United States Navy Band
International Saxophone Symposium was born. The
first symposium was held on March 17-18, 1978.
The first concert had an international flavor with the
appearance of guest soloists Elie Apper of the Royal
Conservatory of Music and Commandant Yvon Ducene
of the Musique des Guides, both from Belgium. American artists James Houlik, Donald Sinta and Chief
Underwood were also featured with the Concert Band. The Commodores performed with jazz soloists Jim
Boitos, Chad Evans, Tim Eyerman and Frank Foster.
In its first 13 years of existence, organizers searched for a permanent location for the symposium. Early
performances were held at such venues as Departmental Auditorium, Tawes Theater at the University of
Maryland and the Sail Loft on the historic Washington Navy Yard. Finally in 1991, the symposium was
moved to the newly constructed Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. This stateof-the-art
facility offered the potential to stage five events at once and has been the home of the symposium
ever since.
Over the years, the Navy Band has hosted some of the biggest names in the saxophone community such
as Claude Delangle, Frederick Hemke, Arno Bornkamp, Steven Mauk, Dragan Sremec, Debra Richtmeyer,
Eugene Rousseau and John Sampen. Jazz greats who have performed with the Commodores include Eddie
Daniels, Chris Potter, Pete Christlieb, Jim Snidero, Chris Vadala, Grover Washington, Jr. and many others.
The annual event that Master Chief Underwood started over 30 years ago has evolved into the largest
two-day saxophone conference in the United States. The goal of the symposium has always been to provide
a hands-on learning experience for saxophonists of all ages and abilities.
Now under the leadership of Navy Band saxophonist Senior Chief Musician Timothy E. Roberts, the
symposium has expanded to provide more recitals and masterclasses than ever before. In 2003, the symposium
team instituted the College Quartet Series, sparking increased participation by college and university
students throughout the country. There is renewed
interest in preserving the international spirit of the
event, and in the past 10 years the band has featured
soloists from Argentina, Canada, China, Croatia,
England, France, Hong Kong, Japan, the Netherlands
and Sweden.
The history of the symposium is preserved on the
Navy Band website: www.navyband.navy.mil. Using
pictures, sound clips and programs, the website is a
year-round resource for all saxophonists.